Bourbonnais with mushroom sauce
It took me over a year to finally enter a shop in the first arrondissement of Lyon dedicated to poultry. Most of the time, I was close to doing it. And, most of the time, it was closed. When one day, I got lucky and was in need of a chicken, yet little did I know that I would end up with a chicken like this—a very special one.
2 kg Bourbonnais or any other chicken
15 ml vinegar
sea salt
4 rosemary sprigs
15 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
sauce:
30 g dried morels
300 ml water
20 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 levelled tsp organic cornstarch
40 ml cream sherry
180 ml water or chicken stock
20 g butter
Put morels in a bowl and pour over water. Leave for 12 h.*
Heat the oven 180° C hot. Spread the chicken with vinegar and place in the oven and cook for 1.5 h.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Heat the pan, add oil, shallots, garlic, and rosemary. Add some salt and sauté on a very small heat for 15 minutes until soft but not brown. Add cornstarch and mix in. Add sherry and mix in. Add water or stock and boil for 2 minutes on high heat. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 15 more minutes. Pour all of the liquid into the blender, blend, pour back in a pan, add morels, water and morel water and continue to boil slowly for 15 more minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. In the end, add butter, mixing it in vigorously. Set aside.
When the chicken has been cooking for 1.5 h, brush it with oil, sprinkle with salt, add rosemary into the cavity, and cook for 30 more minutes.
Take out the chicken. Leave to rest for 5 minutes while you reheat the sauce. Place the sauce in the serving dish and put the chicken on top. Serve. It pairs beautifully with radish salad or turnips.
* If not available, you can use dried porcini. If you have no chance to get dried mushrooms, use 250 g of champignons that you should cook in 2 tbsp of olive oil until they are ready and add to the sauce at the very end before reheating.